Toronto stocks eked out small gains Monday. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 2.38 points to close at 7,719.85.

Energy stocks fell 1.1%, while gold stocks rose 0.9%.

Shares of oil and gas companies felt the sting of lower commodity prices.

EnCana dropped $1.32 to $48.62; Talisman fell 72¢ to $65.82; Canadian Natural Resources lost 61¢ and closed at $57.41.

TransCanada rose 12¢ to $26.02. It said it would spend $137.2 million US to acquire majority control of Portland Natural Gas Transmission System.

Among active issues, Nortel lost 7¢ to $5.95; Bombardier dropped 13¢o $5.90; and Domtar fell 23¢ to $14.55.

WestJet shares rose $1.31 to $27.36 after it reported its third-quarter profits soared 40%.

CNR shares dropped 18¢ to $72.25. It will buy the rail assets of Great Lakes Transportation for $500 million.

Procyon Biopharma shares gained 11¢ to 95¢. It announced the U.S. Patent Office had issued it a patent for its anti-HIV protease inhibitors.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index closed up 6.58 points at 1,442.18

In New York, the major market gauges posted gains despite a report that the U.S. budget deficit hit a record US$374.2 billion in fiscal 2003.

The war in Iraq was one reason for the huge shortfall. But the general economic slowdown south of the border and a new round of tax cuts also played a role.

The new deficit figure is more than double the US$157.8 billion deficit the country recorded in fiscal 2002, and breaks the previous record deficit of US$290 billion, established in 1992.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 56.15 points to close at 9,777.94.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite Index gained 12.70 points to close at 1,925.10.